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1910
Write the text of your article here! History When this brass finish chassis passed its mandatory chassis test on 16 February 1912 Mulliners of Birmingham were commissioned to build a superb landaulette for delivery to Norman C. Seeman of London. It was delivered on 15 May 1912, and as with so many of Australia's Silver Ghosts, the car was registered in England, this one being given Registered Number 0.12. It was acquired shortly after by its first Australian owner, Albert Austin of Eilyer, 75-79 Irving Road, Toorak, and the property Greenvale, Willaura, Victoria, and was shipped to Melbourne. The magnificent two storey eighteen room mansion Eilyer in Toorak had originally been built in 1870 for the Scottish-born merchant and politician Sir James Lorimer. Albert Austin was born in England in 1834 and arrived at Geelong in 1851 aboard the clipper ship Brilliant. He spent two years at his uncle Thomas' property Barwon Park gaining pastoral experience and from there went to Eilyer near Lake Bolac. Within twenty years, as a man in his late thirties, he owned Longeranong Station, and Borriyallock Station, each of 30000 acres or more. He also purchased Murgha Station 25 miles west of Deniliquin in southern NSW, and in 1874, a 50 per cent share in Wanganella Estate at Conargo, 25 miles north-west of Deniliquin, later to buy the property in 1894. Wanganella Estate was at the forefront in the breeding of the highest quality merino sheep in Australia. Albert Austin was on the Board of Australian Mortgage Land and Finance Company from 1898. In 1890 he had become the Inaugural President of the Pastoralists' Association of Victoria and Southern Riverina, retaining this senior office until 1902, only resigning then to become a Trustee of the Association. Austin held grazing interests in Kanawalla in western Victoria, and other properties in NSW, including Pallal , Canoon and Gelam Stations, on the Murrumbidgee River west of Hay. He also acquired a grazing interest in New Mexico, USA, with The Hon Thomas Skene of Melbourne, and Camperdown, Victoria, as a partner. 1910 was surely a widely used car, travelling between the Austin family estates in Victoria and their extensive pastoral properties in southern NSW. After the death of her husband, Mrs Austin retained the car, but sold it in 1917 to Frederick D. Michaelis of 19 Robe Street, St Kilda, Melbourne. Michaelis had commenced the business in Melbourne, of Michaelis Hallenstein & Co, leather merchants and tanners Sir Archie Michaelis, son of the owner, was to reminisce later that as a boy learning to drive he had once started the car and driven it through the rear wall of the garage. There was evidence of this when the car was purchased many years later by Fred Miller Robinson. Repairs had been made to the front tubular cross-member. The car was known to have still been in the Michaelis family in 1922. It was subsequently sold to Michaelis' partner Mr Hallenstein. Around this period it carried the 1920s registration (Vic) 90.799. It was later purchased by J.K. Phillips of 19 Broadway, Elwood, a Melbourne Suburb, around 1930. Little of its history is known between then and when it was purchased by Carden Rofe in the early 1950s. It was stored in Rofe's backyard in suburban Camberwell, exposed to the weather, along with the 1909 model, Chassis 60922. Fred Miller Robinson relates that they were `..surrounded by firewood and chickens.' By 1958 the chassis had been purchased by Keith Gardner, who had found it lying in a back street in Camberwell in a very sorry state. Gardner proposed an exchange of his front-wheeldrive BSA car, with a cash adjustment in his favour and became the next owner of 1910, with the express desire to rescue the car from threatening fate. In 1960 it was acquired by Fred Miller Robinson. At that time the chassis was still equipped with a Martin and King saloon body of about 1923 vintage. The body was decidedly inappropriate, the wood and upholstery had rotted, and so the first restoration decision was easily made. There was no choice but to remove the body. Fred Miller Robinson tells how he handled some of the early rebuild: 'The wooden artillery wheels were in a sad state, and the rear wheels had been converted to take 20 inch truck tyres. Three new beaded edge rims would have been required for authentic restoration, but these were just not available. The hubs were therefore replaced by the Dunlop splined type (first introduced in 1912) and the wheels were replaced with 23 inch Dunlop wire wheels and 600 x 23 tyres. At the same time, 17 inch diameter brakes were fitted on the rear axle with the original mechanical handbrake on the internal drums. The foot brakes were converted to hydraulic, with internal wheel cylinders operating the mechanical linkage of the shoes for the outer drums. The original foot operated transmission brake was slackened off so that it could still be adjusted up for emergency use in a matter of minutes.' (Praeclarum, April, 1976 p. 139) Miller Robinson decided to build a replica of the London-Edinburgh body, but '...1910 was a standard type of 1912 chassis with three-quarter ellliptic springs in the rear. However with L to E replica body, and by fitting a larger diameter L to E carburettor and L to E rear bonnet catches, 1910 was close to being a true replica of the original London to Edinburgh model No 1701 of 1911.' (Praeclarum, April, 1976, p.140) The body construction was undertaken in Melbourne by Doug Horner, a foreman body builder who had built a body on Chassis 2006 the previous year. The panelling was done by Sid Ward, a master panel beater. It was completed by November 1960 and Registered, (Vic) 1049. Painted grey at that time, it still carried the original bonnet from 1910 with its six vertical louvres at the rear of each side panel. In September of 1961, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the 1911 London to Edinburgh Run, two restored Edwardian Silver Ghosts from Victoria took part in an eight day tour tour of a similar distance, in top gear. The participating cars were Fred Miller Robinson's 1910, and Jim Cooper's 40YB, while 6TB joined in for part of the event. The journey was conducted from Melbourne, Victoria to Griffith in NSW via Swan Hill and Balranald, returning via Lockhart, Deniliquin and Echuca to Melbourne. The two cars had their transmissions locked out of first and second gear. Two independent RACV members Stewart Middlehurst and Victor Caulfield were present. The tour consisted of 828 miles, and it was said that starting in top gear with a warm motor at about 250 rpm was achieved with less clutch slip than in a new car of the day. Only on one occasion did a slow moving vehicle inhibit the passage of the cars, requiring them to drop below their minimum safe speed of 15 mph. 1910 achieved the maximum recorded timed speed, of 70.6 mph over a special section. The 1911 run saw the original London-Edinburgh car (Chassis No.1701) also attempt consumption tests at a constant 20mph, where 24.32 mpg was achieved. In the 1961 tour the cars averaged 50 to 60 mph but still managed to attain a best consumption of 16.4 mpg On one stretch of gravel road between Hay and Darlington Point, rain on the previous day had rendered the road impassable to traffic. On the day that the cars required its `use, their high ground clearance enabled them to negotiate this horror stretch at 30 mph with consummate ease. Miller Robinson drove the car at the 1964 Rolls-Royce Owners Club Australian Federal Rally, winning the Concours. It attended every Federal Rally from then until 1969, when Fred moved to Perth, Western Australia. In Western Australia, 1910 was entered in the 1969 Perth RROCA Federal Rally, carrying Western Australian Registration No. (WA) UDJ 391. After the car was sold to Jack Jeffery in Sydney in early 1970 completion of the conversion to the London-Edinburgh specifications was finalised 'by removing the three quarter elliptic springs, making appropriate modifications to the spring fittings on the rear axle housing and the chassis, and by installing underslung cantilever springs.' It was now carrying Registration No. (NSW) RR309, while it was later to carry Veteran Car 012, and was painted white all over. The bonnet had also been converted to a flush-sided version. 1910 was acquired by Peter McGrath of Double Bay, Sydney in the mid-1970s, and later by David Jones in Victoria, carrying the Victorian Registration No. (Vic) 008. The car is also widely photographed carrying the plate (Vic) 331, (the original number plate from the post-War Silver Ghost 15CW) but was never road registered to that number).1910 has been successful in gaining many awards over the years, from 1963 at Wagga Wagga where it won the Age and Authenticity Trophy, in to the 1990s. It won the the RROCA Federal Rally Concours in 1964, 1986 and 1989. 1910 has been a widely used car, participating in many RROCA and Veteran Car Club of Australia events. It has won many concours and is a very distinctive vehicle currently painted a bright red. This much-travelled car moved to South Australia, having changed hands in 1994. It is believed to have been sold again in recent times. In 2007 the car was at Goodwood House for a Goodwood Members' open day, where the owner was given as being a Dr Malcolm Whitehead of Axminster, Devon.